MINI Motoring

Shaun Van Der Linde and the Castrol MINI lead the new Class T championship going into round seven and eight of the Sahara Production car championship taking place on Saturday 28 May for the Port Elizabeth leg of the Vodacom Power Tour.

MINI Coopers have dominated the Class B championship of late. Van Der Linde secured the championship in 2004, while this year has seen a gigantic tussle between Van Der Linde and Martin Steyn in another MINI Cooper S.

In order to tighten up the racing between the different manufacturers competing in the class, weight and air flow restrictions were applied to the MINI Cooper S in recent meetings, however the MINI Cooper S has remained quick and spearheaded the Class.

Organisers and the teams have taken a bold step by creating a new class, Class T, catering for turbo and super charged cars. The MINI Cooper S trio of Van Der Linde, Steyn and Craig Nicholson will debut the class, with the hopes of enticing the other manufacturers into the promising class. Class B will remain, catering for normally aspirated two litre production cars.

Moving to the new class enables the MINI Cooper S brigade to shed the air restriction and added weight, with a long-term prospect of converting to John Cooper Works guise on the cards. The new package will showcase the true characteristics of the cars, perhaps snapping at the heels of the more powerful Class A competitors?

Van Der Linde and Steyn have duelled all season long, and with points being carried over from Class B to the new Class T, Van Der Linde holds a small four-point lead over Steyn. Craig Nicholson lies third.

With such a close championship fight pressure on the teams is steadily increasing, only one bad result could dash the hopes of winning the championship honours.

Class T Championship

1.Shaun Van Der Linde (MINI Cooper S) 63
2.Martin Steyn (MINI Cooper S) 59
3.Craig Nicholson (MINI Cooper S) 47

Class B Championship

1.Dave Compton (Toyota RunX) 31
2.Mike O'Sullivan (Fiat Stilo) 17
3.Garth Waberski (Mercedes) 14
4.Dawie Brough (Fiat Stilo) 12
5.Brian Martin (Toyota RunX) 8
6.Phillip Kekana (Toyota RunX) 5

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